It wasn't all that long ago that Patrick Queen told me he wanted to retire a Steeler. That was near the start of training camp. It's the honeymoon period. Everyone's excited about fresh starts.
But through the first five games of the season, Queen's impact in the middle of the defense hasn't included the highlight-reel, splash plays fans were expecting.
Queen has 30 tackles through the first five games of the season and is on pace for 102 tackles. He's got just one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit and two passes defensed. No forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions or sacks. And, according to Pro Football Focus, Queen has missed 20% of his tackle opportunities, which would be a career worst should he continue on that pace.
These numbers have been alarming, giving people on the outside buyer's remorse, that the signing was a waste of money.
But that's not the feeling on the inside. And no, I'm not talking about Teryl Austin's glowing remarks from Thursday, in which he said, "I think he's playing really good football for us. He is leading us out there. He is running and hitting. He's doing all the things we thought he would do when we got him."
Coming off back-to-back weeks in which the defense struggled mightily with miscommunication and busted coverages, I asked several players on the defense how things might be different with Queen wearing the green dot and quarterbacking that side of the ball.
"He's not trying to do it by himself," Montravius Adams told me. "He's bringing everybody along."
"He's super special. Just the way he thinks and communicates on the field when I'm with him helps a ton," Payton Wilson told me. "People don't see what he does in house, just the way he helps me."
"He makes us better overall as a unit," Alex Highsmith told me. "Just his communication I think is top-notch. The more he gets reps in this defense, the more he learns this defense, he's only going to communicate better and get better."
That answer from Highsmith was one I was looking for. I'd had a suspicion that learning a new defense might play a role in a potential slow start for Queen. His first job out on the field is to communicate the play that's called, including minute details into executing those coverages. The Ravens and Steelers play defense differently. This is a brand-new ballgame. So, I asked Queen what that transition is like from one defense to another and what the learning process has been like for him.
"Just understanding route combinations and the stuff that comes with that," Queen told me. "That's why I've been taking pride in not letting anything in the middle of the field. Just knowing the simplicity with our defense, being able to know different coverages and how the coverage get supported through different route concepts and stuff. It's been a huge help coming from there to come here and just having a more simple defense."
Simplifying things always makes communication easier. And, as for not letting anything to the middle of the field, opposing quarterbacks have a 76.3 passer rating when targeting the middle of the field against this defense to this point. That's the sixth-best mark in the league.
I asked Queen specifically about the breakdown in coverage against the Colts, how Joe Flacco and their offense consistently tore apart the Steelers' Cover 3 defense, repeatedly in the same window over and over again. He didn't pin that on miscommunication, but rather a lack of execution on the details in coverage.
"We know we messed up," Queen said. "It was just certain tools that we used in that coverage and we didn't do that. So, we just know that simple stuff that we gotta do on our part. When we know certain situations, we call a call for a certain reason. And we use certain tools for a certain reason. So, it's really just coming down to executing. That's the biggest thing. We didn't execute."
Everything I've heard from Queen's coaches, teammates and Queen himself, the man is all about getting everyone else right first before he does anything himself. Now, he's obviously got to make plays. He knows that. That's what he's paid to do. But, his selfless attitude toward the job should lay a good foundation for what he can do when he knows this defense like the back of his hand.
It'll come with time. Queen knows that.
"I'm just focused one day at a time, getting better, making sure my teammates are getting better, making sure that we're all on the up," Queen said. "It's a long season. It's a lot of days that the work gets put in. So we just got to make sure every single day we show up and not take a step back and always taking a step forward."
MORE STEELERS
• Fun little tidbit about Queen: He still has the shoulder pads he wore at LSU at his locker. They sit on top of his locker, as the purple and gold accents stand out among all the other equipment surrounding it. He hasn't worn them since college, as they'd be far too big for NFL play. But, definitely cool that he keeps them with him.
• About all this George Pickens stuff. Yes, he had teammates that were wildly upset with him about the game. But, that doesn't mean they've turned their back on him or anything close to it. Russell Wilson had glowing remarks about Pickens when he addressed reporters Thursday afternoon. But, I've also spoken with several players in not-so-formal conversations this week, and they were just as supportive in those conversations. One player even told me that all of this stuff is overblown, saying, "I feel bad for the guy."
So, this doesn't appear to be a situation in which Pickens has lost the support of the locker room.
• No matter what's going on with Pickens, it's not affecting the Steelers' monitoring the Davante Adams situation. Nothing groundbreaking to report here, but I feel more confident based on what I'm hearing that the Steelers won't overpay to get him. I'm also under the impression that if the Steelers land Adams, they would prefer to do so in a way to keep him beyond this season.
Worth noting about Adams: The Steelers cannot currently fit him under the salary cap. They have $10.5 million in cap space right now, and Adams is still owed more than $12 million this season. And, the Steelers can't use all of their space to fit Adams or for any external acquisition. Teams have to keep roughly $6 million of breathing room for any additions that have to be made to the roster throughout the season to fill spots left by injured players. During the season, every dollar is accounted for regarding the salary cap, so $10.5 million of cap space isn't all that much right now.
• Speaking of players being supportive of Pickens, another player that is gaining more and more reverence in the locker room is Dan Moore Jr. Many of the younger linemen really look up to the fourth-year tackle. He also happens to be having the best year of his career thus far, which is giving some of the younger guys faith in the patience it takes to develop.
• Alex Highsmith is getting close to a return from his groin injury. He might be able to practice every day next week. If he can get a full practice in, maybe he gets back on the field against the Jets in Week 7.
• Cory Trice Jr.’s hamstring injury is coming along. Still no exact timetable for his return, but there’s some optimism that it could be sooner rather than later.
• Cam Sutton is working out on his own at the facility, within the guidelines of his suspension. He was permitted to return to the facility after the first four games and can now take part in team meetings. He's just not allowed to practice, play or even attend games with the team yet. But, he is also permitted to work out with the strength and conditioning coach, so that's what he's doing to prepare for his return after the Steelers play the Giants in Week 8.
• Remember all the stink regarding locker room music? Especially a couple seasons ago when Marcus Allen was here? Well, music doesn't seem to be much of an issue anymore. It's played every now and then, as both veterans and younger players have had speakers play music at times, but it's seldom loud. Not sure if this has been mandated by the team, the players or just a coincidence with player turnover. Either way, it's noticeable.
